Judge won’t throw out assault case against town councilor

A jury trial is scheduled for Thursday at Newton District Court. Town Councilor Marilyn Devaney is accused of hurling a boxed curling iron at a beauty store employee.

Jillian Fennimore

Judge Gregory Flynn has denied Marilyn Devaney’s motion to have the assault and battery case against her thrown out, according to prosecutors.

Devaney, a Watertown Town Councilor and member of the Governor’s Council, is charged with allegedly throwing a boxed curling iron at a Waltham beauty store clerk last April. The clerk would not take Devaney’s check because Devaney did not have a driver’s license.

A jury trial is scheduled for Thursday at Newton District Court, according to Corey Welford, a spokesman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

Devaney’s lawyer, Janice Bassil, argued that the veteran councilor has been singled out for “vindictive prosecution” because of her position as a public official. Flynn rejected that argument.

Assistant District Attorney Sean Flynn said Flynn has yet to rule on a motion brought by the TAB & Press to quash Devaney’s subpoena of reporter Jillian Fennimore.